published in the review of international payments data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has showed that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration spent $5.1billion on external debt servicing between June 2023 and July 2024.
meanwhile the federal government had pleaded for debt relief at the united nations general assembly which held this in New York, the United States of America .
Data review shows that the country paid $54.3 million in June 2023, $641.6 million in July 2023, $309.9 million in August 2023, $439 million in September 2023, $509 million in October 2023, $367.7 million in November 2023 and $65.6 million in December 2023.
In January 2024, the government paid $560 million, $283.2 million in February 2024, $276.1 million in March 2024, $215.2 million in April 2024, $854.3 million in May 2024, $50.8 million in June 2024 and $542.5 million in July 2024.
Nigeria suffers from heavy reliance on loans, and as of the first quarter of 2024, the country’s loan portfolio stands at N121 trillion.
President Tinubu was represented by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima at the 79th United Nations General Assembly that held in New York, the United States of America, where he called for a special concession for countries in the global south.
“Countries of the global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden,” he had stated.
Experts have reasons to worry that Nigeria’s heavy spending on debt servicing will hamper development as monies meant to be spent on development are spent on debt servicing.
